Dubai Hotels See Upsurge in Visitor Numbers

Some 8.6 million hotel guests stayed in Dubai in 2010, an increase of ten per cent compared to the previous 12 months, official figures from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) have revealed....

Some 8.6 million hotel guests stayed in Dubai in 2010, an increase of ten per cent compared to the previous 12 months, official figures from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) have revealed.

The organisation also said that revenue collected through tourism in Dubai has climbed to Dh 13.2 billion last year compared to Dh 12.4 billion in 2009. Almost Dh 11.2 billion came from hotels, and the rest came from hotel apartments.

In 2010, there was an increase in the number of hotels and hotel rooms in the emirate. DTCM noted that 30 new hotels were opened - taking the total number to 382 and the total number of extra rooms to 7,600 rooms.

Hotel occupancy rates remained flat at around 70 per cent over the course of the last two years.

Speaking to Gulf News, Peter Goddard, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting, said that the levels reported by the DTCM are consistent with the company's research of the market.

"The occupancy levels have been at about 74 per cent in 2009 and 75 per cent in 2010," he said. "The numbers you've got [from the DTCM] are lower because there's a lot of substandard properties that don't perform that well."

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